Jeffrey A. Collier

Shareholder

Jeff is a Shareholder in the firm’s Tampa office with 18 years of experience serving private and public sector clients throughout Florida in the areas of environmental, land development and administrative law. Jeff represents clients before federal, state and local environmental agencies on large development-related projects and contamination remediation projects throughout Florida.

As a former managing attorney in the South Florida Water Management District’s Office of Counsel and a former senior attorney in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Office of General Counsel, Jeff brings a unique perspective on challenges related to environmental resource and consumptive use permitting, compliance and enforcement, water quality/water supply issues, sovereign submerged lands, and power plant siting.

Prevailed in administrative hearing challenging Environmental Resource Permit Modification issued to client All Aboard Florida. Following a lengthy proceeding, the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings issued a Recommended Order which found for All Aboard Florida on all issues and endorsed the permit under review. The permit is for a portion of an express passenger rail system which will connect the four largest urban population centers in Southern and Central Florida - Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Orlando. The passenger service will be known as Brightline and is scheduled to begin operating between Miami and West Palm Beach later this year. The Recommended Order contains the most thorough analysis to date on the issue of whether the first element of the public interest test permits consideration of non-environmental factors and provides more predictability and clarity as to the application of the public interest criteria.

Counsel in resolving an annexation challenge and an administrative challenge to a comprehensive plan amendment for a coalition of developer clients with projects at risk due to a long-running dispute between Alachua County and the City of Gainesville. Successfully negotiated with the County and the City for a global settlement allowing clients to move forward with projects that had been stalled for over six months and which were at risk of being delayed for another year or more.